The Experiment: The average human walks 4,000 steps. Health gurus say 10,000 is the goal. I am doing 20,000. That is roughly 10 miles (16km) every single day.
> THE LOGISTICS
20k steps takes time. About 3.5 hours of pure walking. You cannot do this "accidentally." You have to commute by foot, walk during meetings, and walk after dinner.
> DAY 1: THE JOY OF WALKING
I walked to work (1 hour). It was meditative. I listened to a podcast. I arrived energized.
I walked home. My feet hurt a little. But I felt "Health."
> DAY 3: THE TIME CRUNCH
This is the problem. 3.5 hours is a lot of time.
I had to take Zoom meetings while walking in circles in a parking lot. My colleagues asked why I was breathing heavy.
"I'm just... existing aggressively," I said.
> THE PHYSICAL TOLL
> THE MENTAL SHIFT
By Day 5, something changed. My anxiety lowered. Humans are meant to move. When you are stationary, your brain spins in loops. When you move forward, your thoughts move forward.
I solved a coding bug I had been stuck on for weeks just by walking past a bakery.
> THE DATA
My resting heart rate dropped from 65 to 58 in just one week. That is insane efficiency adaptation.
However, my hunger was insatiable. I ate two dinners every night. I did not lose weight because I ate back every calorie I walked off.
> CONCLUSION
20,000 is overkill for a modern worker. It requires sacrificing almost all leisure time.
But 10,000? That feels non-negotiable now. Sitting is the new smoking, but walking 10 miles is a part-time job.